Utah's Largest Paper Endorses Obama

The largest paper in Utah bashed Mitt Romney’s campaign on Friday and instead endorsed President Barack Obama.

"In considering which candidate to endorse, the Salt Lake Tribune editorial board had hoped that Romney would exhibit the same talents for organization, pragmatic problem-solving and inspired leadership that he displayed here more than a decade ago," the editorial board wrote, referring to the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002.

"Instead, we have watched him morph into a friend of the far right, then tack toward the center with breathtaking aplomb."

Romney, who was credited with saving the Winter Olympics, lived in the Utah at one time. The former Massachusetts governor also has ties to the state because of his Mormon faith.

Still, Utah’s "favorite adopted son" has become the Republican Party’s "shape-shifting nominee," The Tribune said in its editorial, entitled “Too Many Mitts.”

“Where, we ask, is the pragmatic, inclusive Romney, the Massachusetts governor who left the state with a model healthcare plan in place, the Romney who led Utah to Olympic glory?” the editorial board asked. “That Romney skedaddled and is nowhere to be found.”

The newspaper endorsed Obama in 2008. Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona won Utah’s six electoral votes.

Utah has been a red state for the past 11 elections, and Romney is expected to win the state on Nov. 6.

The Tribune’s editorial was among a number of presidential endorsements announced on Friday by news organizations 18 days before the election.